


"There's still time to change the road you're on"

by NatalieRyan



Series: Worries of a father and son [4]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: AU, Gen, Jack acquires a baby, Jack is Mac's father AU, even for a little while, he is reminiscing about not being in Mac's life when Mac was a baby and then growing up, he sings to the baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-21 22:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30028452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatalieRyan/pseuds/NatalieRyan
Summary: This fic comes to you from the talk I had with thistle some time ago about Jack and babies. We are both very fond of Jack with babies, and I decided to give him one. Temporarily at least.So, first, this fic belongs in the Jack is Mac's dad 'verse I and Thistle merged for.Second, there's an original character in this fic which is a high school sweetheart of Jack's I created for this AU because of the baby angle. They are still friends, they just haven't seen each other much.The song Jack sings to Sophia is "Stairway to heaven" by Led Zeppelin, and the title of this fic comes from the same song.You can tell I needed some softness in my life, right?Enjoy!
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Series: Worries of a father and son [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009104
Comments: 19
Kudos: 24





	"There's still time to change the road you're on"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [N1ghtshade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/N1ghtshade/gifts).



> This fic comes to you from the talk I had with thistle some time ago about Jack and babies. We are both very fond of Jack with babies, and I decided to give him one. Temporarily at least.  
> So, first, this fic belongs in the Jack is Mac's dad 'verse I and Thistle merged for.  
> Second, there's an original character in this fic which is a high school sweetheart of Jack's I created for this AU because of the baby angle. They are still friends, they just haven't seen each other much.  
> The song Jack sings to Sophia is "Stairway to heaven" by Led Zeppelin, and the title of this fic comes from the same song.  
> You can tell I needed some softness in my life, right?  
> Enjoy!

Jack was in Texas for the birthday of his nephew and it just happened that his nephew was best friends with the kid of one of Jack's old flames. Well, more like a summer relationship, but seventeen year old Jack thought she was it. They had a thing that was actually cute and sweet. He took her out on dates at the local pizza place, and she took him to community events. 

Margaret was as gorgeous as he remembered, albeit with a few more laugh lines and white hairs in her rich auburn hair. But she was still that lively person who was talking a mile a minute and smiled with her whole body. She added glasses to her attire, but Jack had a pair of his own tucked in the protective case in his jacket's inside pocket. 

Mac was taking care of groceries together with Riley and Bozer, and Jack agreed to take Bobby to the park, allowing Jill and Mark to get everything ready. His mom was overseeing the operation birthday, Jack had no doubt everything would turn out as it should. No force was strong enough to go against Meg Dalton and win when she had her mind set on something.

Jack had to admit he had an ulterior motive to come down to Texas. It was the first time after he told his mom and sister about Mac being his biological son. He was afraid of the reaction, but those two loved Mac as much as they loved him. Back when Mac was just the skinny bomb nerd with the silly hamburger name, they adopted him immediately. Having Mac to be actually blood related to them changed nothing. Except the legal part where Mac insisted to have Jack's name be added to his personal information as his father. Jack couldn't forget the face Oversight made when Mac submitted the official paperwork to him and asked for his record to be updated. 

Honestly, Jack didn't expect Mac to want to change anything… seeing as how things turned out when Jack had the revelation seeing Ellen on the picture. But Mac surprised him with a very emotional request one night, and Jack couldn't deny the kid anything ever.

That said, Mac also wanted to tell the team, and Jack's family… technically his family as well now. And that was another thing Jack held his breath for. He didn't want to blurt out that Mac was his actual son without Mac's permission. Mac reassured him that he really wanted to tell their closest friends. 

Jack was brought back to the now when he saw Margaret with her husband and their son. 

Once Bobby and Miles met, they went to their usual playing spot in the park, while Margaret's husband took off after kissing her on the cheek. 

Margaret lit up when she saw him and Jack had to admit it was good to see her too. She was holding a baby in her hands, a little girl who looked adorable in a giraffe onesie. Her big eyes were tracking every movement and smiled at Jack when Margaret came to say hi. 

"Hello, Jack, it's so good to see you again!" She greeted him cheerfully and Jack found himself grinning at her. 

"Good to see you too, Marge. And who is this beauty?" He cooed at the baby who giggled now that the attention was on her. 

"This is Sophia. Sophia, say high to Jack." 

The tiniest hand wrapped around one of his fingers, and Jack melted at Sophia's strong grip. 

"You wanna hold her?" 

Jack looked up in shock at Margaret. She hadn't seen him in God knows how long, yet she was here offering him to hold her daughter. There was a fleeting thought that he had killed people with those hands, there was so much blood on them he wondered why people still found the comfort in them. If Mac was there, he'd tell him that none of it was on him, and that he had to do it. It was an either-or situation. 

He looked at his hands again. And then at the happy and excited baby who was reaching for him. She was blubbering at him now, tiny hands in fists flapping excitedly. 

"Yeah, okay." 

"You always looked good with babies, Jack." Margaret said as they sat on the bench and Jack cradled the baby closer to him. 

Sophia fit in his embrace so well something inside him shifted. The baby was looking at him with her big blue eyes, reaching for his beard with her little hands and giggling when she touched his cheeks. 

She settled against his neck and her tiny hands ended up in fists in his third favorite Metallica t-shirt as Jack snuggled her closer.

The smell of baby permeated his nostrils and he inhaled. 

"Yup, I was right. You are a goner." 

Jack laughed, careful not to jostle Sophia as he turned to look at Margaret. 

"You can say that. I don't know why babies love me so much, but they do. And honestly I love them too." 

"They kinda tend to latch on to you. There's something about you that's soothing." 

"You think? Me soothing? Have you met me, Marge?" 

"Of course I have. You may look rough, but you are as soft as a marshmallow. You can lie to people and deceive them, well, most of the time, but kids and puppies always know who means them well." 

That was actually heartwarming to hear and as the baby snuffled against him, Jack gently started rocking her and moving along to the rhythm as Sophia kept fluttering her eyes. Like she wanted to go to sleep, but she needed a nudge. 

"She looks so cozy in your arms, man you were really made to hold babies." 

Marge sounded excited and happy at the prospect of seeing him with a baby, not knowing that the more Jack held the baby in his arms, the more he was experiencing a pang of regret for all the times he missed holding his own son as a baby. 

It was as if she sensed Jack's turmoil, because her next question floored him. 

"Got any of your own, Jack?" 

Jack had to bite his lip because he was close to letting a sob out, one that was lodged in his throat ever since he took Sophia in hands. 

How was he supposed to tell his old girlfriend that yeah, he indeed had a kid of his own and a few he adopted along, but that he didn't know that until a few months ago? 

"Jack, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's not my business, and I sometimes speak before I think. You know me." 

Margaret sounded subdued somehow and the last thing Jack wanted was to make her feel bad about his sad thoughts. 

"I have a son. And a coupla other kids I kinda adopted along the way. Like you said, babies like me. Apparently adults do too." 

She smiled and didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue. 

"Several months ago I learned that I had a son. My own flesh and blood." Jack said as he looked at the baby who was still looking around excitedly. "We actually knew each other for years before I learned that. It happened by accident. I guess I'm thinking of all the things I missed with him." 

"I'm sorry about that. I'm glad you found him, though." 

"Yeah, me too. But sometimes… as much as I love them all and wish to have been there for all of them, he is still…" 

"It is something that hits you differently because of the connection. I'm not saying that you don't care for the others, but it is one thing to watch the kid grow, and be the kid's parent when the kid is an actual person on its own." 

"That's so true. My boy has had a rough life as it was… let's just say the person we both thought was his father… he won't get the father of the year award." 

"Oh, that must have been hard to watch." 

"Yeah… it is. But I'm counting my blessings, y'know? I got him now and I want to make it count for something. I can't help but feel that I could have been there, I should have been there." 

"You are now. I think that if he is smart enough, he'll see that you are here to stay now." 

"You are probably right. He is a genius." Jack bounced the baby in his embrace because it was becoming fussy. "He didn't get that from me, tho." 

Marge looked at him like she disagreed, with a smile. 

"You always did that. Don't downplay yourself, Jack. You are smart, too." 

"You know, Mac would agree with you. He tells me that all the time." 

"And he is right." 

"The lady is getting fussy. Should I give her to you or?" 

"Yeah, maybe I should take her." 

Sophia started wailing the moment Margaret tried to take her, holding on to Jack's shirt and neck. 

"I'm sorry. She is usually not that clingy to people she hasn't met before." 

"Maybe you are right after all." 

"Seems like you are the baby whisperer, Jack." 

Jack grinned and then secured Sophia in his arms before he remembered something. 

"I think I'm gonna try something if you don't mind." 

"Go ahead." 

Jack took a look of the playground where Bobby was still engrossed in the games with a couple of other kids and then returned his attention to the baby. 

He was trying to decide which song to choose, and before he knew it, he started singing "Stairway to heaven" in a small voice. 

He was aware that someone approached them and judging by the way that someone sat next to Marge, it was probably her husband. 

"There's a feeling I get when I look to the west. And my spirit is crying for leaving. In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees. And the voices of those who stand looking. That's you." 

Jack bopped the baby's nose and her eyes fluttered closed as she scrunched it. She was adorable and Jack continued singing while rocking her. 

"And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune. Then the piper will lead us to reason. And a new day will dawn for those who stand long. And the forests will echo with laughter. Remember laughter?" 

Another voice joined him, repeating "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah…" and Jack looked up to see Mac in front of him. Jack raised an eyebrow in question, he was surprised that Mac was singing the song. 

"You sing that to me often." 

"I didn't think you were awake enough to remember." 

"You'll be surprised what else I remember. Anyway, we are done with the groceries. Riles and Boze are headed home and I came to pick you and Bobby up. I see you made a new friend. She is adorable." 

Jack looked at the sleeping baby and smiled. "She is." 

Mac extended his hand towards Margaret and her husband, introducing himself. Jack could see Marge's knowing smile and he had to duck so Mac couldn't see the smile on his own. 

Maybe Marge was right. Jack didn't think he would ever get over the fact that he wasn't there for Mac's birth, his first tooth, first word, first step… for a lot of firsts. But he was here now, and he was ready to take care of his son, just as he should have all those years ago. He had regrets, and he knew that the pang in his chest and the feeling of never doing enough were gonna haunt him still years from now. But he had found his son by chance, and he wasn't going to let the rest of their time being spent in regret. 

Taking one last look of the baby, he kissed her forehead and gave it to Margaret. 

She secured it in her embrace and as Sophia settled in, Jack stood up and joined Mac. 

"It was good to see you, Marge. We shall meet up again when I visit. Or if y'all find your way to LA, we'd be more than glad to have you around." 

"Thanks, Jack. And likewise." 

Letting Bobby run to the car in front of them, Mac and Jack slowly walked behind him. 

"Who was that?" Mac asked, looking at Jack questioningly. 

Jack took one last look of Margaret and her family before he turned around and faced Mac.

"She is a very good friend." 

Jack put his hand around Mac's shoulder and they walked back to the SUV Mac was driving that belonged to his mom. The Yukon his mom named "Cornelius" after the character in "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed reindeer", which Mac found amusing. 

Jack realized right as Mac got behind the wheel that as much as he would have loved to have that family with Ellen and Mac, and maybe other kids as well, he wasn't going to dwell on it. Instead, Jack chose to focus on what he had now. 

And he was damn happy with it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts?


End file.
